diff --git a/Jellyfin.Api/Helpers/StreamingHelpers.cs b/Jellyfin.Api/Helpers/StreamingHelpers.cs
index 44292044c2..5c1017d6ea 100644
--- a/Jellyfin.Api/Helpers/StreamingHelpers.cs
+++ b/Jellyfin.Api/Helpers/StreamingHelpers.cs
@@ -387,14 +387,20 @@ public static class StreamingHelpers
         // Check if this is a progressive download (no segments) vs HLS streaming
         var streamingRequest = state.BaseRequest as StreamingRequestDto;
 
-        // Debug: Log to console (should appear in docker logs)
-        Console.WriteLine($"=== TRANSCODE PATH DEBUG ===");
-        Console.WriteLine($"SegmentContainer: {streamingRequest?.SegmentContainer ?? "NULL"}");
-        Console.WriteLine($"TranscodingType: {state.TranscodingType}");
-        Console.WriteLine($"OutputContainer: {state.OutputContainer}");
-        Console.WriteLine($"Is SegmentContainer null? {streamingRequest?.SegmentContainer is null}");
-        Console.WriteLine($"Is TranscodingType Progressive? {state.TranscodingType == TranscodingJobType.Progressive}");
-        Console.WriteLine($"Condition result: {streamingRequest?.SegmentContainer is null && state.TranscodingType == TranscodingJobType.Progressive}");
+        // Debug: Write to /tmp (always writable)
+        try
+        {
+            var debugLog = $@"[{DateTime.UtcNow:yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss}] === TRANSCODE PATH DEBUG ===
+SegmentContainer: {streamingRequest?.SegmentContainer ?? "NULL"}
+TranscodingType: {state.TranscodingType}
+OutputContainer: {state.OutputContainer}
+Is SegmentContainer null? {streamingRequest?.SegmentContainer is null}
+Is TranscodingType Progressive? {state.TranscodingType == TranscodingJobType.Progressive}
+Condition result: {streamingRequest?.SegmentContainer is null && state.TranscodingType == TranscodingJobType.Progressive}
+";
+            File.AppendAllText("/tmp/jellyfin-debug.log", debugLog);
+        }
+        catch { }
 
         // Progressive download: full file download with no HLS segmentation
         if (streamingRequest?.SegmentContainer is null && state.TranscodingType == TranscodingJobType.Progressive)
@@ -403,13 +409,13 @@ public static class StreamingHelpers
             var diskTranscodePath = Path.Combine(folder, "downloads");
             Directory.CreateDirectory(diskTranscodePath);
             folder = diskTranscodePath;
-            Console.WriteLine($"==> Using downloads folder: {diskTranscodePath}");
+            try { File.AppendAllText("/tmp/jellyfin-debug.log", $"==> Using downloads folder: {diskTranscodePath}\n"); } catch { }
         }
         else
         {
-            Console.WriteLine($"==> Using standard folder: {folder}");
+            try { File.AppendAllText("/tmp/jellyfin-debug.log", $"==> Using standard folder: {folder}\n"); } catch { }
         }
-        Console.WriteLine($"=== END DEBUG ===");
+        try { File.AppendAllText("/tmp/jellyfin-debug.log", "=== END DEBUG ===\n\n"); } catch { }
 
         return Path.Combine(folder, filename + ext);
     }